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On Thu 1 Dec, the Scottish National Portrait Gallery finally reopened its doors to the public after a major refurbishment spanning two and a half years. It has been well worth the wait; the once gloomy and glum interior has been transformed into a bright, spacious and fluid building, fit for a new generation. And best of all, entry into the new Gallery is free.
The public and exhibition space within the Gallery has increased by more than 60% since its refurbishment; as well as the traditional (and much missed) artworks from the likes of Ramsay, Nasmyth and Raeburn being on prominent display, the new Scottish National Portrait Gallery now houses some of the National Galleries of Scotland’s unparalleled holdings of Scottish and international photography. The photographs, which vary from some of the earliest examples of 19th century photography to cutting-edge contemporary commissions, now have their own dedicated gallery space (currently exploring the theme of photography and romanticism). They are also integrated within various exhibitions throughout the Gallery, including Hot Scots, which takes a glimpse at those Scots making their mark of the world today; and Migration Stories: Pakistan, displaying Verena Jaekel’s beautiful collection of Scottish-Pakistani family portraits.
David Tennant by Zed Nelson
RON O’DONNELL THE GREAT DIVIDE The Great Divide was commissioned as an installation and a photograph by the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, for an exhibition entitled The Vigorous Imagination. It was the first time I had money to spend on a photographic set, to buy new wallpaper, a new carpet, a second hand fridge. The image was a product of the Thatcher era, and talk of Britain as divided . . . the haves and have nots, the Great North/South Divide. But I could see this divide in my own city. The problem was how to separate the two parts. One day, when I was up a ladder papering, I tore a bit of the paper and it looked like the islands of the north of Scotland. So the divide became the east coast of Great Britain and if you look carefully it travels down the divided wallpaper past Dundee, Edinburgh, then down through the carpet to London represented by a bottle of HP sauce. The ‘Tretchikoff style’ portrait above the fireplace was in my house in Stirling and I had to plead with my Dad to use it, he wouldn’t let it out of the house. The burnt plank of wood propped up on a chair in the fire, was a story my friend told me when she was working for the DHSS. It’s great to have this work shown at the opening of the new refurbished Portrait Gallery: the building looks wonderful and the exhibition space dedicated to photography is a welcome addition in the city. I hope this will be the first of many great photographic shows at the Portrait Gallery.
Untitled. From the series The Brave Ones, by Zwelethu Mthethwa Saltmarket from Bridgegate, by Thomas Annan